Wheeled stall for itinerant sale

ABSTRACT

The invention is a stall mounted on wheels for an itinerant merchant. It has a hollow spherical body made up of an upper and a lower shell, the upper one acting as a roof and the lower one as a store and sales counter. The upper shell is movable between two positions, a closed position wherein it is sealed against the lower shell along merging edges and a service position wherein it stands away and above the lower shell to act as a roof.

United States Patent [1 1 Letourneux WHEELED STALL FOR ITINERANT SALE[76] Inventor: Yvon Letourneux, 1 rue du Chene Lasse 44, Saint Herblain,France [22] Filed: June 1, 1972 [21] Appl. No: 258,909

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 2, I971 France 7121160 [52]US. Cl. 296/21, 296/26 [51 Int. Cl 1360p 3/02 [58] Field of Search u296/23, 22, 21, 23 C, 26, 296/27 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,767,013 10/1956 Spears 296/21 [111 3,799,604 [451 Mar. 26,1974 Medford 296/23 C McGinnis 296/26 X Primary Examiner-Philip GoodmanAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Raymond A. Robic; Arthur Schwartz [57] ABSTRACTThe invention is a stall mounted on wheels for an itinerant merchant. Ithas a hollow spherical body made up of an upper and a lower shell, theupper one acting as a roof and the lower one as a store and salescounter. The upper shell is movable between two positions, a closedposition wherein it is sealed against the lower shell along mergingedges and a service position wherein it stands away and above the lowershell to act as a roof.

12 Claims, 4 Drawing, Figures Pmmmmzs 1974 3.7951604 sum 2 BF 2 1WHEELED STALL FOR ITINERANT SALE The present invention generally relatesto devices or installations that make it possible for a merchant to sellhis ware on public ways or in places where crowds gather such as fairs,exhibitions, market places,

beaches or others; such devices necessarily having to be easily movableor dismountable,

In known devices of this general type, stalls exist in all sizesgenerally having a parallelepipedic shape, provided with a single-sloperoof and made up of wood panels, capable of being mounted and dismountedrapidly. Such devices comprise either a sales wicket or complete removalof one of its wide faces. In the latter case, the part that opens may bea canvas which, in raised position, acts as an awning. In other cases,the opening may be obtained by two panels of different sizes, thesmaller one located in the lower portion of the opening. being movableto horizontal position to act as a shelf for display or sale, the otherpanel being mov able upward to act as an awning. Other installationsconsist in the use of trailers having a top that can be raised andextensible panels or boxes, the person responsible for the salesprotecting himself of the sun or rain by means of an independentsunshade.

Such various types of stalls have numerous disadvantages, namely:

the access of clients to the sales booth is limited;

the whole display is not completely visible by prospective buyers;

the constituting elements do not interconnect or close with a properseal and are not tamperproof.

zontal sealing plane;

The stall of the invention makes it possible to avoid these drawbacks.Indeed, in the use of the stall of the invention, the complete displayis visible by eventual buyers who have complete access to it. The stallis, on the other hand, constructed in such a way that in closed positiontaking up a reduced space, the equipment inside is sheltered against anyinfiltration while opening of the access door is impossible in thatposition thus making it-possible to leave the stall outside in anyseason for any extendedperiod of time.

More specifically, the stall of the invention broadly comprises a hollowbody made up of an upper shell to act as a roof and a lower shell to actas a store and sales counter. The upper shell is movable between twopositions, a closed position wherein it is sealed against the lowershell along merging edges of the shells and a service position whereinit stands away and above the lower shell to act as a roof, means beingprovided to displace the upper shell between these two positions.

Preferably, the body closes with the shells abutting one another withtheir merging edges lying in a horizontal plane at about mid height ofthe body. In a yet preferred embodiment, the body is a hollow sphere inclosed position so that each shell is hemispherical.

Preferably also, the displacing means comprises a pair of elongatedvertical members mounted at the center of the shells and having one endfixed to one of the shells respectively while their other ends aremovable into one another. In one alternative, one member is a threadedrod while the other is a tube having a threaded bore inwhich the rod canbe screwed. In another alternative, one member is a cylinder ,while theother is a rod sealingly and telescopically received in the cylinder,the cylinder and rod being parts of a lifting jack.

In order to prevent unwarranted access to the inside of the stall whenthe latter is closed, the lower shell is formed with a cutoutterminating substantially in the above-mentioned horizontal plane and agroove along the cutout. A door fits in the said groove along its edgesfacing the groove so that the door may only be opened when the stall isin service position.

It-is believed that a better understanding of the invention will beafforded and other features and advantages will become apparent by areading of the following description having reference to the appendeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a stall made according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the stall shown in serviceposition;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the stall taken along the hori- FIG. 4 is anelevation view of the stall mounted on a wheeled chassis.

In the embodiment shown, the stall comprises a hollow body made up oftwo hemispherical shells, an upper one 1 and a lower one 2, closing oneover the other along a horizontal diametral plane. In order to make thestall proof against wind and rain, the upper shell 1 is bent outwardlyto define a flange 3 which is received in a rabbet 4 formed along theupper contour of the lower shell 2.

The upper shell comprises a, metal frame 5 made up of a base ring andbows converging toward a central ferrule 6 in which a central screw 7 issecured. The latter, formed with circular groove threads for instance,screws into a nut 8 located at the top of a central post 9 of which thelower end is fixed at the junction of the arms of a cross frame 10 madefrom shapes or square cross-section tubes, for instance. A cylindricalhoop 1 l is secured over this cross frame 1*!) to act as a bed for thelower hemisphericalshell 2. An openingis provided for the tubular post 9through the lower portion of the shell 2 and is sufficiently large sothat the small oscillations of the post, either when the upper shell islifted or under the action of the wind; will not injure the shell 2.This allowance for oscillation of the tubular post 9 makes it possible,on the other hand, properly to register the two hemispherical shells inclosed position.

The lower shell may comprise an interior arrangement to suit theintended use of the stall. In the selected example shown in thedrawings, the stall is intended for the sale of iced food, ice creams,sorbets or other frot zen food products. It is thus that in the instantcase, half of the inner volume of the lower shell 2 may be used to housethe cooling apparatus and to store the products to be sold. In theselected example, this housing comprises a thermal insulation 12, theupper part of the shell being provided with a door 13 giving access tothe cooling apparatus and two lateral doors 14 giving access to thestoredproducts.

Incorporated in the handle of the door 13 may be mounted a postingdevice having simple grooves in which a card giving the various pricesmay be slid. Spherical cavities 15 may also be provided for picking upmoney.

A floor 16, a pivoting seat 17 as well as two or more shelves 18 may beprovided in the remaining space of the lower shell 2. A door 19, being aportion of the lower hemispherical shell, gives access to the salesbooth. It fits in a corresponding cutout made in the lower shell 2 byvertical sliding motion in grooves provided in the edges along thecutout. The door can open only by upward translation after the uppershell 1 has been raised, thus making the stall tamperproof in closedposition; this safety feature being increased by the provision of a boltlocking the two hemispherical shells.

The above-described stall body may be moved on a wheeled chassis such asis shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein the cross frame 10 is inserted insidethe channels that make up the side members 21 of the chassis 20.Stabilization of the stall may be achieved in the following manner: eachbranch of the cross frame 10 may have a screw-jack 22 allowingstabilization of the stall over the ground whatever be the flatness ofthe latter. By operating these screw-jacks until they bear against theground, it is thereafter possible to withdraw the wheeled chassis.Several stalls may be transported according to the same mountingassembly on a trailer having predetermined dimensions and one or severallevels.

Similarly, the stall assembly may be secured in a permanent manner onits wheeled chassis. In such a case, the screw-jacks 22 are on thechassis itself. The wheels may either be removed, retracted or foldedand the towing drawbar is removable in order not to hinder the access tothe sales booth.

It goes without saying and as it results from the preceding description,the invention is in noway to be limited to the embodiment describedbut,to the contrary, it encompasses any possible variations in thecomponent parts particularly as to the shape, the dimensions, thearrangement of certain elements involved in the embodiments providedthese modifications are not in contradiction with the object and scopeof the appended claims.

For instance, the vertical translation of the upper hemispherical shellmay be obtained by a jack incorporated in the central tubular post 9 andactuated by a foot control, the sliding rod of the jack replacing thecentral screw 7 initially provided.

Similarly, the abutting edges of the two shells may be polygonal, eachof the constituting parts then being like orange slices. Also, the stallbody may be in the form of a cylinder, of a truncated cone or of anyvolume of revolution. The inner arrangement may differ in accordancewith the use intended for the stall.

The stall vof the invention may be used in all cases where sales ordistribution booths are required on public ways and places, beaches,kermesses or others wherein the sales booth must be easily moved inaccordance with an assembly which is compact, closes tightly and istamperproof without the inner arrangement having to be modified andwherein it must be placed into service rapidly.

Particularly interesting applications are those of the sale of icedproducts, food preserves, newspapers for example. Stalls of this typemay also serve as stations of publicity demonstrations as well as forthe distribution of tickets.

I claim:

1. A stall for itinerant sale comprising:

a. a hollow body made up of an upper shell to act as a roof and a lowershell to act as a store and sales counter; said upper shell beingmovable between two positions, a closed position wherein it is sealedagainst the lower shell along merging edges of said shells and aservice'position wherein it stands away and above said lower shell toact as a roof, and

b. means for displacing said upper shell between said positions, saiddisplacing means including a single pair of elongated vertical membersmounted at the center of the shells, one of said vertical membersconnected to each shell and being relatively telescopically movable, oneof said vertical members having male threaded means thereon and theother vertical member having female threaded means thereon wherebyrotation of one of said threaded means relative to the other threadedmeans causes the displacement.

2. A stall as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body closes with saidshells abutting one another with said merging edges lying in ahorizontal plane.

3. A stall as claimed in claim 2 wherein said plane is at aboutmid-height of said body.

4. A stall as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said members is athreaded rod while the other member is a tube having a bore threadedalong at least a portion thereof for the screwing therein of said rodwhereby said upper shell may be moved from one of said positions to theother and vice versa.

5. A stall as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upper shell is rotatablerelative to the lower shell.

6. A stall as defined in claim 1 wherein said shells are substantiallyhemispherical.

7. A stall for itinerant sale comprising:

a. a hollow body made up of an upper shell to act as a roof and a lowershell to act as a store and sales counter; said upper shell beingmovable between two positions, a closed position wherein it is sealedagainst the lower shell along merging edges of said shells abutting oneanother with said merging edges lying in a horizontal plane, and aservice position wherein it stands away and above said lower shell toact as a roof, and

means to displace said upper shell between said positions,

c. said lower shell being formed with a cutout terminating substantiallyin said horizontal plane and with a groove running along said cutout,and including a door fitting in said groove along its edges facing saidgroove, means on said upper shell cooperating with said door wherebysaid door may only be opened in said service position.

8. A stall as claimed in claim 7 wherein one of said members is acylinder while the other is a rod sealingly and telescopically receivedin said cylinder, said cylinder and rod to be parts of a lifting-jack.

9. A stall as claimed in claim 7 wherein said upper shell has anoutwardly turned flange along the edge thereof sealing it against saidlower shell, and said lower shell is formed with a rabbet along the edgethereof sealing it against said upper shell; said rabbet being of a sizeto receive said flange in sealing relationship.

10. A stall as claimed in claim 7, wherein said shells are hemisphericalin shape and including a trailer on which said lower shell is mounted,said trailer comprisa cylindrical hoop over which said lower shell issecured;

a horizontal frame over which said hoop is fixed, and

by upturned channel shapes turned inwardly toward one another slidablyto receive said horizontal frame.

12. A stall as claimed in claim l0 wherein said horizon-tal framecomprises a wheeled chassis.

* IF =l

1. A stall for itinerant sale comprising: a. a hollow body made up of anupper shell to act as a roof and a lower shell to act as a store andsales counter; said upper shell being movable between two positions, aclosed position wherein it is sealed against the lower shell alongmerging edges of said shells and a service position wherein it standsaway and above said lower shell to act as a roof, and b. means fordisplacing said upper shell between said positions, said displacingmeans including a single pair of elongated vertical members mounted atthe center of the shells, one of said vertical members connected to eachshell and being relatively telescopically movable, one of said verticalmembers having male threaded means thereon and the other vertical memberhaving female threaded means thereon whereby rotation of one of saidthreaded means relative to the other threaded means causes thedisplacement.
 2. A stall as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body closeswith said shells abutting one another with said merging edges lying in ahorizontal plane.
 3. A stall as claimed in claim 2 wherein said plane isat about mid-height of said body.
 4. A stall as claimed in claim 1wherein one of said members is a threaded rod while the other member isa tube having a bore threaded along at least a portion thereof for thescrewing therein of said rod whereby said upper shell may be moved fromone of said positions to the other and vice versa.
 5. A stall as claimedin claim 1 wherein the upper shell is rotatable relative to the lowershell.
 6. A stall as defined in claim 1 wherein said shells aresubstantially hemispherical.
 7. A stall for itinerant sale comprising:a. a hollow body made up of an upper shell to act as a roof and a lowershell to act as a store and sales counter; said upper shell beingmovable between two positions, a closed position wherein it is sealedagainst the lower shell along merging edges of said shells abutting oneanother with said merging edges lying in a horizontal plane, and aservice position wherein it stands away and above said lower shell toact as a roof, and b. means to displace said upper shell between saidpositions, c. said lower shell being formed with a cutout terminatingsubstantially in said horizontal plane and with a groove running alongsaid cutout, and including a door fitting in said groove along its edgesfacing said groove, means on said upper shell cooperating with said doorwhereby said door may only be opened in said service position.
 8. Astall as claimed in claim 7 wherein one of said members is a cylinderwhile the other is a rod sealingly and telescopically received in saidcylinder, said cylinder and rod to be parts of a lifting-jack.
 9. Astall as claimed in claim 7 wherein said upper shell has an outwardlyturned flange along the edge thereof sealing it against said lowershell, and said lower shell is formed with a rabbet along the edgethereof sealing it against said upper shell; said rabbet being of a sizeto receive said flange in sealing relationship.
 10. A stall as claimedin claim 7, wherein said shells are hemispherical in shape and includinga trailer on which said lower shell is mounted, said trailer comprising:a cylindrical hoop over which said lower shell is secured; a horizontalframe over which said hoop is fixed, and jacks operatively mountedbeneath said frame to contact, when extended, the ground in order tostabilize said stall.
 11. A stall as claimed in claim 10 furtherincluding a wheeled chassis having a pair of side members formed byupturned channel shapes turned inwardly toward one another slidably toreceive said horizontal frame.
 12. A stall as claimed in claim 10wherein said horizon-tal frame comprises a wheeled chassis.